Tough one for the Cubbies, but I told you Wandy Rodriquez looks like Les Lancaster at home…simply filthy! While Rich Hill looked nice, the line-up doesn’t without Alfonso in the mix and I won’t stop harping on the Cubbies for not grabbin’ Griffey Jr. when they had a chance. But enough diamond notes, you can read my picks and pics later, because right-now we need to start looking at some Fantasy Football action. Just like my Sunday School Teacher taught me, the only thing better than bettin’ on football is having three players from your fantasy squad on the team you’re betting on! So let’s take a quick peak at Greggy G’s 2007 Fantasy RBs Movin-up and Movin’-down:

After a solid rookie season (1178 rush yards, 6 TDs), the Cadillac took a dive along with the rest of the Bucs last season rushing for under 800 yards and only scoring 1 TD. While injuries played a roll, the biggest reason for his lack of success was Tampa Bay’s inabilities to keep the chains moving. With QB Jeff Garcia is ready to prove he’s still got game (and doesn’t like to land on the end zone pylon azz-first), I have a feeling we’ll see why the Auburn Tiger was considered by many organization as the top RB in the 2005. In addition, just like you saw in Philly with Brian Westbrook, Garcia’s mobility should enable Cadillac to become a bigger threat catching the ball out of the backfield. Reading the press reports, it sounds like Gruden agrees and wants to keep him on the field for as many downs as possible.

Obviously, everybody has Norwood as a sleeper this year, but I think he’s going to be even better than expected. With Warrick Dunn out for the first 6 weeks of the season and Joey Harrington taking ova for Ronny Mex, you think Norwood’s gonna get a nice opportunity? While Jerious’s ridiculous 6.4 rushing average had something to do with an extra LB shadowing the Dog-lovin’ scrambler, his lighting quick agility and pass-catching ability make him a perfect fit for the Georgia Dome turf. Especially with a RB depth chart that looks like an Arena roster and WRs that have trouble catching the ball, Norwood has no choice but to be the focal point of the offense.

LJ’s holdout aside, I think the Chiefs’ offense is going to struggle all season. Anytime you open the season with one of the Huard brothers as your starting QB and a go-to 34-year old WR named Eddie, you think teams fear your passing attack? In addition, the vaunted KC Offensive Line has seen retirement and injuries take a toll, while starting TE Tony Gonzalez will never be know as extra offensive lineman. Finally, LJ rushed the rock over 400 times last year, and can’t be in the same kind of shape working-out away from training camp. While I don’t doubt his ability and the fact that he’ll eventually be playing on Sundays, I really doubt his situation and his attitude if things go south.

While nobody knew how well Reggie and Deuce would play together in 06-07, I do not expect the same kind of breakdown in workload this season. After suffering a major knee injury in 2005, Deuce looked solid last season, but had some minor surgery this past February to clean-up the knee. While reports have him looking good in camp, with his running-style, off-n-on weight issues, and the magic found in Bush’s feet, I can’t see how McAllister breaks the 1000-yard barrier this season. He barley accomplished the feat last year (1057 rush yards), and that was with Bush showing-up to camp late and as a rook.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS @ COLORADO ROCKIES
While most casual fans assume Chris Capuano (5-8, 4.86) will eventually find his groove, experts like myself are starting to see a little panic in the lefty. With the Brew Crew in a nightly standings battle with the Cubbies, Capuano has definitely been a favorite of Pinella’s when checking the box-score…know why…because the Brewers have lost the last 13-games he’s pitched! You can’t tell me Chrissy isn’t pressing, and it can’t help that he’ll try to break the streak in Coors Field against the 4th best hitting team in the NL. While Colorodo’s youngster Jason Hirsh (4-7, 4.91) actually has worse overall numbers, he looked outstanding in his last start at home pitching 6 innings of shutout ball and only giving-up 3 hits and a walk…Rockies by 2-5 runs

CLEVELAND INDIANS @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Congrats to the White Sox for sweeping the Tigers, the best part was it enabled me to listen to talk-radio fans bandy about how Ozzie’s boys are actually going to make a run at the playoffs. Yeah they’ll run, run to Stub-Hub by some postseason tickets! While the Tribe has been up-and-down for the last couple months, the much-maligned Jake Westbrook (2-6, 5.40) is finally starting to pull his weighty-contract and has only given-up 2 runs over his last two starts (13 innings/9 hits). As for the White Sox lefty John Dnaks (6-8, 5.06), he’s had one decent start (6.2 innings, 3 earned) since late June and teams seem ready the him the second time around. Danks last win actually came at Cleveland on July 16th in a 12-11 slugfest where he gave-up 8 hits and 5 earned runs in just unda 6 innings…Tribe by 2-4 runs